As an internal communicator, wouldn’t it be amazing to create audience tailored communications that hit the ground running each and every time? The popularity and hype surrounding AI at the moment is immense with its ability to write, copy, create content and even communicate with people.
Harvard Business review even found that ”ChatGPT can create audience-tailored versions of communications that may resonate more and clash less with each group, particularly eyebrow-raising is its ability to do so responding to prompts with behavioural science cues — crafting surprisingly appropriate messages for particular personality traits, worldviews, and so on.”
Jonas Bladt Hansen has explored how AI can work for internal communicators and gave ChatGPT a series of prompts and briefs including asking it to create a company strategy, an internal communications channel overview and a social media policy with reliable and speedy results. So what exactly is Chat GPT and how can it be of use to internal communicators?
What is ChatGPT?
Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer aka Chat GPT is a chatbot launched by OpenAI that launched in November 2022 and is one of the most advanced AI tools out there. It’s part of a family of language models that have a strong ability to interact in conversational dialogue. Chat GPT relies heavily on text data from the internet to decode patterns and intricacies that help provide its human-esque answers. Ask Chat GPT to do something and it will most likely be able to do so.
From writing essays, writing and fixing code and even passing business school exams, Chat GPT appears quite talented and has the potential to offer us a whole host of benefits…
Pros of ChatGPT
Gives you a starting point
Starting tasks can sometimes be the most daunting, especially writing… What angle do you take? How do I make it engaging from the get go? If you sometimes struggle with intros, Chat GPT can be a good starting point to help you out.
Great for those on a time crunch
We all start the day off with good intentions, we want three things done by the morning and after lunch we have our to do list blocked out hour by hour but it doesn’t always pan out that way. We can get wrapped up tasks, some things take longer than expected and we’re left with a to-do list piling high. AI can work fast, producing hours of content within minutes. Using ChatGPT to help you along with projects can be a great time saver.
Helps generate ideas
Stuck for inspiration on content ideas? Not in the creative zone? Chat GPT can help suggest creative content ideas for a campaign, headlines, article ideas and more…
Cons of Chat GPT
Can’t guarantee quality or validity
We can’t be 100% certain that what AI is providing us with is accurate, or completely up to date. As the information is drawn from content that is already out there there is no fact checking and it’s almost certain that AI won’t be able to write in your brand’s tone of voice which is why it’s incredibly important to review everything to ensure your language is inclusive and adheres to your company guidelines.
OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman even tweeted "It's a mistake to be relying on it for anything important right now, we have lots of work to do on robustness and truthfulness."
Ideas won’t always be true or original
AI relies on existing content and so its ability to produce original content is lacking. If you’re using AI for content, use it for the basis of your research and add your own spin through personal opinions and ideas.
Lacks context
When using AI you need to be really clear on what you want to get the most out of it. Be specific with prompts when asking questions and making requests, the more context and information you can give, the better AI will understand and be able to help you.
Takes away the human touch
Whilst Chat GPT can produce content at speed, there is no human touch to its creation. Its content lacks originality and personality so rather than using it to solely create content, it’s a great starting point for ideas and the bulk of your information. Then you can add your unique perspective and flair to your written content.
3 Ways ChatGPT can help internal communicators
Creating content/content ideas for internal comms
Using the correct prompts, Chat GPT can provide you with content minutes. So whether you’re looking to write a company update for employees, searching for newsletter ideas, need to communicate your new policies in an engaging way or looking to create communications plans, Chat GPT can most certainly provide you with a range of ideas.
Mike Krause, data science director at AI company, Beyond Limits spoke about the importance of good prompts.
"If you ask it a very well structured question, with the intent that it gives you the right answer, you'll probably get the right answer, it'll be well articulated and sound like it came from some professor at Harvard. But if you throw it a curveball, you'll get nonsense."
So how can you write good prompts?
- Start with a clear goal: are you looking for an article, content ideas, a strategic plan, or solving a problem. Be very clear with what you want from the get go
- Keep it concise: keep prompts clear and concise, avoid using unnecessary words and information that can confuse Chat GPT, remember that it is a robot, not a human. Only give it the information and keywords that it needs.
- Test your prompts: see how the chatbot responds to specific word changes in the prompts, this helps refine your answers and get the exact content you need.
Develops an overview of internal comms channels
Developing an overview of communication channels is a task that can sometimes take hours, but Chat GPT can do it in seconds. Ask it to create a table that shows: specific channels and their strengths, weaknesses, purposes, target groups, when and when not to use and content examples for each channel - and watch the magic happen.
Helps create an internal comms plan
Having a solid, strategic internal communication plan is an essential tool for businesses to help drive employee behaviours, engagement and actions. If you need a helping hand crafting an internal communications plan, Chat GPT can help. Start by asking…
“Write an Internal Communications plan for the internal communications team. This should include defining goals and objectives, tracking internal communication, identifying the target audience, choosing the right internal communications tools, creating the right messages, providing engaging comms, scheduling internal communications, identifying ambassadors and measuring the internal communications strategy.” And see what Chat GPT is capable of.
What about the future of AI in internal communications?
In our internal communications predictions for 2023 we've spoke about how intelligent comms and the use of AI will become more common in becoming a helping hand for those in IC.
We recently spoke to Dan Sodergren, Digital Marketing & Technology expert about creating a successful employer brand and employee experience. Dan is a Tedx Talker, Keynote speaker and co-founder of YourFlock, we asked Dan to share his opinions on the future of AI and it's role in our work...
AI is not just a tool, it's a partner in the future of work. Unlocking a new era of productivity, efficiency and growth. The future of work will require a balance of human intuition and AI precision.
If you’re not quite ready to delve into the world of Chat GPT just yet you can take a look at our ultimate guide for internal communications for information on how to improve your communication and develop your internal communications strategy, along with best practices.